
Riitta Katila
Professor of Management Science and Engineering
Web page: http://web.stanford.edu/~rkatila/lagunita/index.html
Bio
Riitta Katila is Professor of Management Science & Engineering and W.M. Keck Foundation Faculty Scholar at Stanford University, and research director of the Stanford Technology Ventures Program. Her research is in the intersection of technology strategy and organizational learning, using machine learning, statistical analysis and mixed methods. She is an expert on innovation, competition, and entrepreneurship in large firms, and her current research centers on responsible and inclusive innovation initiatives.
Prof. Katila's research has received several international awards. She is Alfred P. Sloan Industry Studies Fellow and winner of the Schendel Prize by the Strategic Management Society. She was also recognized as the Top Young Strategy Scholar by the Strategic Management Society (SMS), an award that recognizes "exemplary scholarship that promises to have an impact on future strategic management practice...and will make fundamental contributions to the way we think about knowledge essential to achieving durable organizational success."
She received the Stephan M. Schrader Award for Outstanding Research in Technology and Innovation Management, the Thought Leader Award in Entrepreneurship, and the Best Symposium Award by the Organization and Management Theory Division of the Academy of Management. Her dissertation on industrial robotics firms and their innovation strategies using patents and new products received several recognitions, including the Best Dissertation Award from The Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences and was also recognized for its excellence by the Business Policy and Strategy (now STR) Division of the Academy of Management. Katila has served on the editorial review boards of Administrative Science Quarterly, Organization Science, Strategic Organization and the Strategic Management Journal, is the Program Director for Strategic Management Society's Research in Organizations RiO program, and was recently the Chair of the Technology and Innovation Management Division of the Academy of Management.
Katila studied engineering economics and information systems as an undergraduate, earned a Ph.D. in technology strategy at UT Austin on a Fulbright Scholarship, and received a Doctorate in Engineering from Helsinki University of Technology in Finland. In between, she worked at a management consultancy and in telecommunications. She is the recipient of the Eugene L. Grant Faculty Teaching Award at Stanford, and was honored by Aalto University's School of Science (former Helsinki University of Technology) as the Alumnus of the Year.
Please see http://web.stanford.edu/~rkatila/lagunita/publications.html for access to publications, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wZ3uvFGf1o8 for a Lean Startup SMS video abstract, and https://hbr.org/2017/12/too-many-experts-can-hurt-your-innovation-projects for a recent HBR article on experts and firm innovation.
Honors & Awards
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Best Paper, Industry Studies Association
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Best Paper, Competitive Dynamics Conference
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Schendel Prize, Strategic Management Society
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President, Technology and Innovation Management Division, Academy of Management
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Industry Studies Fellow, Alfred P. Sloan Foundation
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Alumnus of the Year, Aalto University School of Science
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Top Strategy Scholar, "Emerging Scholar of the Year", Strategic Management Society
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Thought Leader Award, Entrepreneurship Division, Academy of Management
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Best Doctoral Dissertation, Technology and Innovation Management Division, Academy of Management
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Eugene L. Grant Faculty Teaching Award, Stanford University
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Best Doctoral Dissertation, Technology Management Section, INFORMS
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Best Symposium Award, Organization & Management Theory Division, Academy of Management
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Best Dissertation Finalist, Business Policy and Strategy Free Press Award, Academy of Management
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Best Student Paper, Technology and Innovation Management Division, Academy of Management
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Leadership Track, Technology and Innovation Management Division, Academy of Management
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W.M. Keck Foundation Faculty Scholar, Stanford University
Current Research and Scholarly Interests
The question that drives Prof. Katila's research is how technology-based firms with significant resources can stay innovative. Her work lies at the intersection of the fields of technology, innovation, and strategy and focuses on strategies that enable organizations to discover, develop and commercialize technologies. She combines theory with longitudinal large-sample data (e.g., robotics, biomedical, multi-industry datasets), background fieldwork, and state-of-the-art quantitative methods. The ultimate objective is to understand what makes technology-based firms successful.
To answer this question, Prof. Katila conducts two interrelated streams of research. She studies (1) strategies that help firms leverage their existing resources (leverage stream), and (2) strategies through which firms can acquire new resources (acquisition stream) to create innovation. Her early contributions were firm centric while recent contributions focus on innovation in the context of competitive interaction.
Professor Katila's work has appeared in the Academy of Management Journal, Administrative Science Quarterly, Organization Science, Strategic Entrepreneurship Journal, Strategic Management Journal, Research Policy and other outlets. In her work, supported by the National Science Foundation, Katila examines how firms create new products successfully. Focusing on the robotics and medical device industries, she investigates how different search approaches, such as the exploitation of existing knowledge and the exploration for new knowledge, influence the kinds of new products that technology-intensive firms introduce. Professor Katila has served on the editorial boards of several leading journals including Administrative Science Quarterly, Organization Science, Strategic Organization, and the Strategic Management Journal.
2020-21 Courses
- Fundamental Concepts in Management Science and Engineering
MS&E 302 (Aut) - Innovation, Creativity, and Change
MS&E 175 (Win) - Part-Time Practical Training
MS&E 208E (Aut, Win) - Practical Training
MS&E 208A (Aut, Win) - Practical Training
MS&E 208B (Aut, Win) - Practical Training
MS&E 208C (Aut, Win) - Practical Training
MS&E 208D (Aut, Win) - Senior Project
MS&E 108 (Win) - Strategy Doctoral Research Seminar
MS&E 376 (Win) -
Independent Studies (1)
- Directed Reading and Research
MS&E 408 (Aut, Win, Spr, Sum)
- Directed Reading and Research
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Prior Year Courses
2019-20 Courses
- Innovation and Strategic Change
MS&E 371 (Aut, Win) - Innovation, Creativity, and Change
MS&E 175 (Win) - Senior Project
MS&E 108 (Win)
2018-19 Courses
- Senior Project
MS&E 108 (Win) - Strategy Doctoral Research Seminar
MS&E 376 (Win)
2017-18 Courses
- Innovation and Strategic Change
MS&E 371 (Win) - Innovation, Creativity, and Change
MS&E 175 (Win) - Senior Project
MS&E 108 (Win)
- Innovation and Strategic Change
Stanford Advisees
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Doctoral Dissertation Reader (AC)
Khonika Gope, Eric Volmar, Tyler Whittle, Willow Wu -
Doctoral Dissertation Advisor (AC)
Jiang Bian -
Master's Program Advisor
Stefan Bran Melendez, Amanda Brown, Kai Feng, Jose Giron, Alexander Lin, Rachel Lu, Ronnie Miller, Juliana Perl, Jason Wu, Meiqi Yang -
Doctoral (Program)
Wajeeha Ahmad, Parisa Assar, Kira Kalkus, Philipp Reineke
All Publications
- Seeing what others miss: A competition network lens on product innovation Organization Science 2021
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The lean startup method: Early-stage teams and hypothesis-based probing of business ideas
STRATEGIC ENTREPRENEURSHIP JOURNAL
2020
View details for DOI 10.1002/sej.1373
View details for Web of Science ID 000584284200001
- Big fish vs. big pond: Entrepreneurs, established firms, and antecedents of tie formation Academy of Management Journal [provisionally accepted] 2020
- Enabling technologies and the role of private firms: A machine learning matching approach Strategy Science 2020
- Lean startup video abstract Strategic Management Society. 2020
- The lean startup method video abstract Strategic Management Society. 2020
- Systemic Innovation of Complex One-Off Products: The Case of Green Buildings Organization Design: Advances in Strategic Management 2018; 40: 299 - 328
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IS THERE A DOCTOR IN THE HOUSE? EXPERT PRODUCT USERS, ORGANIZATIONAL ROLES, AND INNOVATION
ACADEMY OF MANAGEMENT JOURNAL
2017; 60 (6): 2415–37
View details for DOI 10.5465/amj.2014.1112
View details for Web of Science ID 000418761000015
- Too many experts can hurt innovation projects Harvard Business Review 2017
- Who takes you to the dance? How partners' institutional logics influence innovation in young firms. ADMINISTRATIVE SCIENCE QUARTERLY 2015; 60: 561-595
- Evolving strategies for social innovation games Proceedings of the Conference on Genetics and Evolutionary Computation (GECCO) 2015
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HOW DO SOCIAL DEFENSES WORK? A RESOURCE-DEPENDENCE LENS ON TECHNOLOGY VENTURES, VENTURE CAPITAL INVESTORS, AND CORPORATE RELATIONSHIPS
ACADEMY OF MANAGEMENT JOURNAL
2014; 57 (4): 1078-1101
View details for DOI 10.5465/amj.2012.0003
View details for Web of Science ID 000340441400008
- “Distant Search” and “Local Search” Palgrave Encyclopedia of Strategic Management 2014
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TOP MANAGEMENT ATTENTION TO INNOVATION: THE ROLE OF SEARCH SELECTION AND INTENSITY IN NEW PRODUCT INTRODUCTIONS
ACADEMY OF MANAGEMENT JOURNAL
2013; 56 (3): 893-916
View details for DOI 10.5465/amj.2010.0844
View details for Web of Science ID 000321599800013
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The complex search process of invention
RESEARCH POLICY
2013; 42 (1): 90-100
View details for DOI 10.1016/j.respol.2012.04.020
View details for Web of Science ID 000313374400008
- Comparing novice and expert user inputs in early stage product design. Proceedings of the 5th International Congress of International Association of Societies of Design Research (IASDR), Tokyo, Japan 2013
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All the right moves: How entrepreneurial firms compete effectively
STRATEGIC ENTREPRENEURSHIP JOURNAL
2012; 6 (2): 116-132
View details for DOI 10.1002/sej.1130
View details for Web of Science ID 000304905900003
- Sequences of competitive moves and effects on firm performance. ACADEMY OF MANAGEMENT BEST PAPER PROCEEDINGS 2012
- Design Thinking Research – Understanding Innovation User-Centered Innovation for the Design and Development of Complex Products and Systems. edited by Plattner et al., H. 2012: 135–149
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LIFE IN THE FAST LANE: ORIGINS OF COMPETITIVE INTERACTION IN NEW VS. ESTABLISHED MARKETS
STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT JOURNAL
2010; 31 (13): 1527-1547
View details for DOI 10.1002/smj.894
View details for Web of Science ID 000284014000008
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Effects of Search Timing on Innovation: The Value of Not Being in Sync with Rivals
ADMINISTRATIVE SCIENCE QUARTERLY
2008; 53 (4): 593-625
View details for Web of Science ID 000265122000001
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Swimming with sharks: Technology ventures, defense mechanisms and corporate relationships
ADMINISTRATIVE SCIENCE QUARTERLY
2008; 53 (2): 295-332
View details for Web of Science ID 000258783000004
- Technology perspective on network resources. ACADEMY OF MANAGEMENT REVIEW 2008; 33: 550-553
- Rival Interpretations of Balancing Exploration and Exploitation: Simultaneous or Sequential? Blackwell Handbook on Technology and Innovation Management 2008
- Business Performance Measurement – Theory and Practice Measuring innovation performance. edited by Neely, A. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. 2007: 304–317
- Never too early, never too late: Effects of search timing on product innovation. ACADEMY OF MANAGEMENT BEST PAPER PROCEEDINGS 2006
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When does lack of resources make new firms innovative?
ACADEMY OF MANAGEMENT JOURNAL
2005; 48 (5): 814-829
View details for Web of Science ID 000233406300008
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Where do resources come from? The role of idiosyncratic situations
STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT JOURNAL
2004; 25 (8-9): 887-907
View details for DOI 10.1002/smj.401
View details for Web of Science ID 000223115800009
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Exploiting technological opportunities: the timing of collaborations
RESEARCH POLICY
2003; 32 (2): 317-332
View details for Web of Science ID 000181014800009
- R&D collaboration – Timing is of the essence WIRTSCHAFTSPOLITISCHE BLATTER 2003; 3: 348-352
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Something old, something new: A longitudinal study of search behavior and new product introduction
ACADEMY OF MANAGEMENT JOURNAL
2002; 45 (6): 1183-1194
View details for Web of Science ID 000180081400009
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New product search overtime: Past ideas in their prime?
ACADEMY OF MANAGEMENT JOURNAL
2002; 45 (5): 995-1010
View details for Web of Science ID 000178849900010
- Technological acquisitions and the innovation performance of acquiring firms: A longitudinal study. STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT JOURNAL 2001; 22: 197-220
- Business Performance Measurement – Theory and Practice Using patent data to measure innovation performance. edited by Neely, A. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.. 2001: 304–312
- Measuring innovation performance. International Journal of Business Performance Measurement 2000; 2: 180-193
- Interorganizational development activities: The likelihood and timing of contracts. ACADEMY OF MANAGEMENT BEST PAPER PROCEEDINGS 1999
- Distinguishing the roles of the external environment in organizational learning Southwest Academy of Management 1998: 206-210
- Using patent data to measure innovation performance. Proceedings of the International Conference on Performance Measurement 1998
- Distinguishing the roles of the external environment in organizational learning Southwest Academy of Management 1998
- Technology strategies for growth and innovation: A study of biotechnology ventures. Frontiers of Entrepreneurship Research Waltham, MA: Babson College. 1997
- Economic and sociological explanations in high technology environments – Issues for science and technology policy. International Association for Business and Society 1996